A Certain Sage
by Coaxmetal
Summary: In a twist of fate, it is not Iruka who saves Naruto from Mizuki. Instead Jiraiya of the Sannin is rushing to speak with the Sandaime when he happens upon Naruto being attacked by Mizuki.


Disclaimer : Masashi Kishimoto owns Naruto, not me

"Mizuki-sensei!" Naruto greeted his teacher as he gripped the Forbidden Scroll of Seals, "I learned a technique, do I graduate now?" It had been one hell of a challenge to learn a technique, even harder than it had been to get the scroll in the first place, but he had done it. He would finally become a genin!

But instead of the congratulations Naruto expected from Mizuki, who had been one of the few teachers who had treated him kindly, Mizuki was silent. The normally kind look Mizuki wore had been replaced with a mean sneer. Before Naruto could ask his teacher what was wrong the teacher started to walk towards him. "Do you know why everyone hates you?" Mizuki asked as his quiet voice tookon a sister undertone.

Naruto shifted back slightly, worried by his teacher's out of character actions, "No..."

Mizuki continued forward while an excited, almost mad, gleam appeared in his eyes. "Do you remember the Kyuubi no Yoko?" Naruto nodded, confused at Mizuki's seemingly off topic question. "See, what all the kids are taught is nothing but a lie, the Yondaime didn't kill the Kyuubi."

"What? But if the Yondaime didn't kill the Kyuubi what happened to it?" Naruto asked, surprised.

"The Kyuubi was sealed away," Mizuki said manically as he closed in on Naruto, "He sealed the Kyuubi into you! Naruto, the reason everyone hates you is because you're the Kyuubi!" With that said, Mizuki surged forward a kunai outstretched and ready to rend Naruto's neck open.

Mizuki's attempt was interrupted as a foot smashed into his face, and he was thrown backwards. Naruto looked up at his savior, a tall man with long, white hair, in awe. "Hey kid, you alright?" the man asked while he kept his eyes trained on Mizuki.

Mizuki shook his head as he stood back up. "Damnit! I'll just have to kill you too!" Mizuki cursed as he pulled out a Fuuma shuriken.

Naruto disjointedly wondered, still shocked from the recent revelation, why today seemed determined to ruin everything he liked. Naruto had genuinely thought Mizuki was nice, the man had always had a tip or two for Naruto while he practiced Taijutsu. Those views of the man had been turned on their head when Mizuki tried to murder him. Likewise, Naruto had always thought that the Fuuma shuriken was one of the most badass and cool ninja tools.

The white haired man laughed while Mizuki threw the shuriken. "You're decades too early to try and kill me!" He said as he swung his fist downwards, like he was swatting at flies, and knocked the gigantic weapon out of the air.

The tall ninja further surprised both Naruto and Mizuki as he flickered, it had looked like he just vanished and reappeared right in front of the teacher, and Mizuki stumbled backwards. The white-haired nin threw a punch directly at the teacher's throat.

The blow resounded through the clearing, a sick cracking noise that made Naruto squirm just from hearing it. Mizuki collapsed bonelessly and was thrown over the other ninja's shoulder.

"Kid, I asked if you were alright."

"I think so…" Naruto stared at the unconscious body across the older man's shoulder, somewhat fearful of the powerful ninja. If Mizuki had tried to kill him, did that mean Naruto wasn't supposed to take the scroll? That it hadn't been an "extra credit test", and had just been a convenient way to get Naruto alone? Or worse yet, a way to frame him so that Mizuki could kill him without consequences?

The white haired man must have noticed Naruto's worried expression, and stooped down to Naruto's height. "There's nothing to worry about kid, after all Jiraiya the Gallant is here!" Jiraiya told him, "I'll take you to Sarutobi-sensei and we can get this mess sorted out."

/\\\\\

"So Mizuki instructed you to steal the Forbidden Scroll of Sealing to become a genin?" the Hokage asked Naruto.

"He told me to learn a technique from it too!"

Jiraiya shared a look with the Sandaime. It was the Forbidden Scroll of Sealing for a reason. The thing was packed with almost every single one of Konoha's most deadly kinjutsu. Luckily the scroll was also rather high level material, most chunin and even some jonin would have a hard time learning the techniques. It was a scroll written by Hokages, and largely for Hokages.

"So what did you try to learn?" Jiraiya asked sardonically.

"Hey, I learned it!" Naruto seemed to realize that Jiraiya didn't actually believe he learned anything, "Watch!"

He formed a single seal and called out "Kage Bunshin!" and five Naruto's appeared in the room with a small cloud of smoke. All six Naruto's looked triumphantly up at Jiraiya.

Naruto's act left Jiraiya rather surprised, not because the kid had been able to make so many clones and remain conscious, after all the kid was a jinchuuriki. Chakra levels the size of fucking mountains practically came with the title. One of the few benefits that came with having a titanic demon stuck in you.

On the other hand, the Kage Bunshin wasn't what he'd call a simple technique and the kid had learned it in a night. It had taken Jiraiya the better part of a week to master the technique to the point where he could use just one seal to use it. Sure the kid could try over and over again until he got it, what with the size of his chakra pool and all, but Jiraiya had also had Sarutobi Hiruzen, the reigning Hokage who was known as the "God of Shinobi", teaching him and not just a scroll.

Sarutobi didn't seem nearly as surprised, if he was at all. "Well then..." he said with a grandfatherly smile, as he held a hitai-ate out towards Naruto, "Congratulations on completing your first mission."

Naruto's eyes widened to near comic proportions, as he tied the hitai-ate around his forehead "Thanks old man!" Jiraiya laughed at Naruto's exuberance, and placed a hand on the new genin's head.

"Looks good on you kid," Jiraiya complimented, "But we need to have a private discussion now though, so you have to go."

It had been, after all, the meeting with his sensei that Jiraiya had returned to the village for. It was just chance that he passed by the clearing Naruto had been in. Jiraiya was Konoha's spymaster, and he had recently discovered that Orochimaru had founded a hidden village. This required an urgent meeting because Orochimaru was the most dangerous traitor Konoha had, and accurate news of him was automatically a high priority. When Jiraiya's messaged the Sandaime about his findings he had been called to meet Sarutobi within the week.

On his way out Naruto hesitated, his eyes locked on Jiraiya.

The man had not only saved Naruto's life, but also explained what being a jinchuuriki meant. Jiraiya had reassured Naruto that he was merely the Kyuubi's jailor and not the biju itself. The white-haired nin was strong. Naruto had never seen anyone move half as fast as Jiraiya did, and the man had only needed one punch to end the fight. Naruto deliberated with himself and turned around.

Jiraiya saw the boy's eyes, and everything else seemed to fade slightly. Naruto's eyes had a fire burning in them, a kind of determination that Jiraiya rarely saw. "Will you train me?" Naruto asked, and Jiraiya was so painfully reminded of another blond who had once asked the same question. He tried to respond, but couldn't formulate anything. So he turned to his sensei, who merely nodded encouragingly.

It would be better than the alternative, which was placing Naruto on a team with the same classmates who had shunned the boy for years. He would be placed with Kakashi as his sensei, and while the Hatake was a damn skilled ninja, Kakashi would have to split his attention to Naruto's other teammates. One of which would certainly be the Uchiha, who would need training from the only other loyal Konoha nin with a Sharingan which would take more Hatake's time. Yes, Jiraiya was the better option.

"... Alright kid," Jiraiya started slowly, "But if you're my apprentice you'll have to travel with me."

Naruto's determined look didn't fade, "That's okay with me."

"Good. Now go home. I'll come see you tomorrow." Jiraiya gave his new pupil a thumbs up as he dismissed him.


End file.
